Flying Pigeons

fifty perched pigeons

fly off the gas station roof

making room for more

     Now that our weather is getting cooler, we are seeing more birds.  What birds are in your area?  Can you write a poems about birds today?  Have fun.

WHERE DO YOU WRITE?

I like to write
at the kitchen table.
Sometimes I write
at the dining room table.
My laptop lets me write
at the coffee table
or even an end table.
When the weather is nice
I write from the picnic table
or even a patio table.
But my favorite place to write
is in among the vegetables.


     Can you tell I'm being silly again?  My father-in-law had a stroke and the area affected is his right frontal lobe at his speech center, so I'm thinking about speech in a whole new way.  I've also been super busy too.  Did the storm keep you awake taking care of your house and family?  Maybe you're ready to write a silly poem too.  Use your dictionary, a magazine, or even a newspaper.  Close your eyes and take a stab with your finger.  What word is under your finger?  Do this three times on three different pages.  Now see if you can write an absolutely nonsensical poem that links the three words.  Or what happens if you write the word backward.  I'm thinking about "word" and come up with drow.

Oh dear, I need my mind to settle.  Here I go being silly again.

A black bird
went canoeing
in his row boat.
"This feels renewing,
as long as I float."

With my paddle,
I drow, drow, drow
back and forth
too and fro.


    See how silly.  Do have fun writing your own poem.

READY

I'm a little bit worried

about the hurricane.

The winds will blow

and it will rain.

We've got flashlights

with fresh batteries

a transistor radio

if we lose electricity.

School has been cancelled

for the next two days.

I've got books to read

and board games to play.

Dad says I shouldn't worry

as I go to bed this night

and I hope when I awake

everything will be all right.


     What is the weather like at your house?  What do you like to do when school is cancelled?  I hope you have fun writing a poem today.  Every day is a great day for writing poems.

School for Chefs

Come meet a chef who

ogles his food.  He 

opens cans with his thumb and

knows nifty tricks for

icing cakes and 

never does he

go hungry.


       Can you read this poem in one breath?  Can you hear the marching rhythm?  I recently read African Acrostics by Avis Harley and it reminded me what a fun form acrostics can be.  I started this poem to spell "cook" because my husbands Cook's Illustrated magazine is sitting on the table, but as I wrote the poem, the four letters didn't let me tell enough of a story.  Now, I'm thinking this chef would make a great character for a picture book.  so have fun today taking words and trying to write your own acrostics--who know where the journey might take you.  Have fun.  Happy Sunday.

Night Songs

The moon is full

shadows are long

I can hear coyotes

sing a yipping song.

From a hole

in the saguaro

way up high

I hear an elf owl

with a too-weet cry.

It is getting late

I should be abed

but I am listening

to night songs instead.

     What sounds/songs do you hear?  Can you write a poem about sounds?  Have a fun weekend.

Black Bats

Black bats

fly at night.

Black bats

create fright.

Black bats

fly over 

field and town.

Black bats

coming around

your way to wish

you a happy

Halloween day.

     Happy Poetry Friday.  Today's host is Linda at   teacherdance.blogspot.com       If you go to this web site you can find lots of other exciting poems.  If you haven't seen Renee Latulippe's blog about THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY with an inter view of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong.  You need to go here to see four of the poets from the book reading their poems.
   And if you follow David Harrison's blog here  you find out that he has agreed to do another wonderful poetry workshop next fall at the barn in Honesdale, PA for the Highlight's Educational Foundation.
   Have a great weekend.  enjoy writing your own poetry.

Your Eyes

Daddy says 

my eyes

are like melted chocolate

like ground cinnamon

like steaming pots of chili

like the soft brown of deer eyes.

He says my eyes

are deep and mysterious

like his and mama's

dark eyes.

So why do I love

your blue eyes?

Blue like clear skies

like a swimming pool

a lake, an ocean.

Deep blue like sapphires,

your eyes sparkle

they shine like dew

on Texas bluebonnets

that bloom in waves for spring.

I love your blue eyes;

they take me away

to distant places.

I wish they were mine.

      What color are your eyes?  Are they like your mom's or dad's eyes?  Think of all the wonderful things your eyes let you see.  Can you write a poem about eyes today?  Or, if you'd like, shut your eyes and then write a poem about the first thing you see when you open your eyes again.  Have fun.

haiku

Eating corn candy

orange and yellow leaves fall

sweetness of autumn

  I'm still doing haiku.  I'm not sure if I should switch the first and third lines on this one, what do you think? Does this one work?   Now it's your turn, today can you write a poem about the candy you're hoping to get for Halloween?  Have fun writing. 

Jack-o-lantern

carving a pumpkin

scooping out the seeds inside

a happy face glows

  Did you ask yourself if the glowing face was the jack-o-lantern or the carver?

Did you have fun carving a pumpkin for Halloween?  Can you write your own poem about carving a pumpkin? 

Yesterday, at No River Water , Renee LaTulippe interviewed the editors of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY, Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong and is having a poet-a-palooza with videos of four poets from the anthology reading their poems.

Halloween Haiku

October's full moon

scarey Halloween shadows 

shake on pumpkin vines

     Can you try writing your own haiku today?  Have fun.

Five Bats Go Flying

Five bats flying
one Halloween night
they zipped and zoomed
they flew to the moon
as they took flight.

"I think I see something,"
said the first bat.
"Oh yes," said the four,
"on a broom, that's the cat."

"I see something."
said the second bat.
"Down in that ditch."
"Oh yes," said the four,
"that is a witch."

"Eeeeee," said the third bat.
"Look at what I see."
"Oh yes," said the four.
"A skeleton hangs in that tree."

"Eeeeek!" said the fourth bat.
"Is that a phantom?"
"No," said the four.
"It's a jack-o-lantern."

"Come," said the fifth bat.
"I know what we should do,
we'll fly in front of the moon
and sing
OOO-ooo-OOO."

"Yes,"said the four bats,
"that's what we should do,
we'll fly to the moon singing
OOO-ooo-OOO-ooo-OOO!"


     Sorry, I'm late today.  I've been having too much fun playing with this poem and the art work to go with it.  What I really want to do and will do soon is re-cast this poem as a poem for five voices--or as a mini-play/poem with one voice for each of the bats, a narrator and the chorus for the group of bats.
    Anyway, now it is your turn.  Can you write a poem about a bat today?  This is a good poem to try in rhyme since the "at" family of rhyming words is pretty big with lots of possibilities.  What ever you do, have fun today.  I'm so glad you stopped by. Thank you for coming to my poetry playground.

Boo!

Look carefully at this poem and see if you can figure out the form. 

If you go out on Halloween night

be prepared for a scary fright

if the moon is shining bright

and bats fly out of sight

beware of ghouls

who hold you tight

and witches

who shout

BOO!

     Did you figure it out?  Here is a hint--count lines, count syllables.

This is a nonce form based on the number 9.  There are 9 lines in this poem and nine syllables in the first line and one less syllable in each consecutive line, ending with a one syllable line.  Would you like to try writing a poem in this form?  Have fun.

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS

Five little pumpkins

sat in a row

on a pumpkin vine

they grow and grow.

The first little pumpkin

grew so small.

The second little pumpkin

grew very tall.

The third little pumpkin

grew squat and flat.

The fourth little pumpkin
grew round and fat.

The fifth little pumpkin

grew and grew.

It grew so BIG

we didn't know

what to do.

We used a tractor

to move the thing.

Started carving and

didn't finish until spring. 

     This is a counting poem for Halloween.  I bet you know another Halloween counting poem, or you can write one of your own.  There are bats and toads, cats, owls and witches you could count, up or down. Don't forget candy, apples, monsters, ghosts, warts or scars for other possibilities.  Have fun writing your poem.  Please share your creation with me.

PHAINOPEPLA

I saw a phainopepla today.

He sang a song then flew away.

I'm glad this bird sang to me.

He sings his song so cheerily.

     Now that the weather is cooling a little, some of the migratory birds are returning and I had to write another poem about the phainopepla, or I'd forget the bird's name.  If you'd like to hear what this bird sounds like click here.  This bird really looks like a black cardinal to me, which makes me think about wearing black and being a pirate.  can you write a poem today about a bird.  My friend children's story teller Willa Brigham says that birds sing because they can fly.  Since she went skydiving, she thinks we all would sing if we could fly like the birds. 

GOOD BYE JACK-O-LANTERN

When you carve

your jack-o-lantern

make a face

full of fright.

Do not set it

on the porch steps

and then leave

it over-night.

The javelinas

run by rooting

and they might

take out a bite.

Among themselves

they start fighting.

No more pumpkin

it's gone from sight.

Good bye, Jack-o-lantern.

       Where I live we can't leave pumpkins outside because the javelinas love to eat them.  I guess it must taste like candy to them.  Are there critters in your part of the world that would eat your jack-o-lantern?  OK, so your challenge for today is to write a poem titled, Who Has Been Eating my Pumpkin?  There are lots of possibilities--bugs, worms, birds, even Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater.  (Could the apple in the Garden of Eden have been a pumpkin?)  Have fun deciding whose voice you'll use for this poem.

MY PUMPKIN

I'm out in the pumpkin patch

and everything is fine.

I'm looking for a pumpkin,

one to carve as mine.

I'm looking for a ripe one

to sit flat on the ground,

one that is bright and orange

that thumps with hallow sound.

I thought I found a perfect one

to carve up for this gig.

The one I picked I can not lift

because it is too big.

      Do you carve a Halloween pumpkin?  What do you look for in selecting your pumpkin?  Do you go to a pumpkin patch to get your pumpkin or do you get it from the store?  Can you write a poem about finding your special pumpkin?  Or write about one special pumpkin.

MY PUMPKIN

Round,
     plump,
thump, thump, thump.

Listen, carefully
     to the sound
          of humming--
thrum, thrum, thrum.

The face on my jack-o-lantern
is a scarey sight,
as he sits on the porch step humming
all of this Halloween night.

He chortles;
     he giggles;
          he gives us a fright!
He seems to love
         HALLOWEEN NIGHT.


      Do you carve a pumpkin for Halloween?  Your challenge for today is to write a poem about picking out your pumpkin or choosing the face to carve on a pumpkin.  Or, if you'd like, write about what happens when the pumpkins get together.  Hope you have some hoooooowwwwwwling fun with this challenge.

Food

A young panda

eats bamboo leaves

to get the moisture

that it needs.

A young koala

likes eating

sweet gum leaves

as it climbs

among the trees.

A young joey

in his mother's pouch

drinks her milk

and doesn't come out.

Me, I'm a kid

as you can see

and I like eating

lots and lots

of pizza,

please.

       What is your favorite food?  Can you write a poem about the foods you like to eat?

My Pedal Car

In my red pedal car

I pedal near

I pedal far.

I'm leaving now

I'll be back soon

I'm pedaling off

to the moon.

I'm going now.

There's lots to see.

Will you wait 

here for me?

     For many youngsters a pedal car is their first form of transportation and freedom.  If you could travel in your own vehicle, what would it be?  I have a friend who is in New Mexico this weekend for a hot air balloon festival.  She wants to travel in a hot air balloon.  I have another friend who has his pilot's license and loves flying vintage airplanes.  My friends Dana and Susan have a boat they sailed from Finland to Thailand.  Your challenge for toady is to write a poem about a form of transportation.  Tell about your vehicle.  You can make something up.  Perhaps you like traveling in a tin can or on a vacuum cleaner.  Tell me where you'll travel.  Or maybe you want to time travel.  Have fun writing your poem and please, share your creations with me.

HALLOWEEN COSTUME

"Come," said Mother

"Give me a hand.

A costume for Halloween,

we've got to plan."

Tell me what 

you'd like to be

we'll make the costume,

just wait and see.

A ballerina, a monster,

a cowboy, a bum,

a princess, a scientist

a teacher, a nun.

A nurse or a doctor

a lawyer, or farmer.

a rockstar, a model

a plumber, or drummer.

There are so many things 

to be for Halloween,

but now is the time

to start to scheme.

     Have you thought about what you'd like to be for this Halloween?  Your challenge for today is to write a poem about what you want to be this Halloween.  Oh what fun this one should be.  

WILIFORD MOUSE

Wiliford Mouse

liked to spend hours

sitting in the garden

smelling the flowers.


This little mouse

was quite a hoot

sniffing the pollen

with his yellow snoot.


He'd taste the petals,

lap up the dew

but when the cat

came stalking through


Wiliford tried hiding

under the pansies

but he couldn't help it

young Wiliford sneezed.

AH  AH  CHOOOOO!






    Hey, Happy Thursday.  I want to thank you for stopping by and reading my poem.  I've used a slip rhyme, or assonance rhyme in the last stanza.  If you can think of a flower that rhymes perfectly with sneezed, please let me know.  That last stanza still needs work, but I'll get to it.
    Do you like mice?  Click here to read MICE by Rose Flyman.
    Here is your challenge for today, can you write a poem that uses Ah-choo? 

SUPER HERO

I wear a cape

where ever I go

and pretend that I'm

a super hero.

I run and I fly

and I do good deeds

I have everything

a super hero needs.

I have a compass

a clothes pin and string

a magnifying glass

and a decoding ring.

So if you want

to come play with me

put on your cape

and we'll climb a tree.

      I have a young friend who is at that stage where he always wants to wear a cape.  He likes to jump on the bed, and  the couch to pretend he is flying.  I remember when I wore a cape and pretended to be Superman.  I saved the box tops from the cereal and sent them in with my 25 cents for a red Superman belt.  Everyday I checked the mail waiting for the belt to arrive.  Did you ever wear a cape?

     Your challenge for today is to write a poem about a character you've imagined yourself to be.   I'm thinking this might be time for an acrostic.  Do have fun.

Kicking Leaves

Walking to school

kicking the leaves

my feet make

a swishing breeze.

Look at the colors

so many hues

red, yellow, greens

orange, purple, blues.

The leaves swirl

in my breeze

making a rainbow

beneath my knees.

     Can you write your own poem about the leaves?  Have fun.  You might also want to read Donald Hall's famous poem Kicking the Leaves.

Happy Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus
had a young son, Diego.
His mother died
and the young boy
was educated by priests.

It took many years
for Columbus
to gain backing
to start his journey.
During that time,
he supported himself
and his son
by drawing maps.

Finally, when the three ships,
The Pinta, the Santa Maria
and the Nina set sail
the boy embarked
on a great adventure
with his father
and his Uncle Bartolomew.

A storm blew up
and the Nina young Diego
was on, went down at sea,
but he and his crew were rescued
and taken on board his father's ship.

Imagine how exciting
it must have been
to finally see land
after the terrible storm.


Can you write your own poem about discovery today?

HOUR GLASS

the sand

drops

slowly

grain

by grain

never

to drop

again

toward

the end

sand begins

to spin

racing out

the narrow bend

of the hourglass

again

      I've always been fascinated by hourglasses and three minute timers.  Far more fascinated than shaking an watching snow globes.  Happy Sunday.  Someone once made the comment that the difference between prose and poetry, is that the poet gets to control the length of the line.  Wish I knew who said it, I'd give him credit.  But it is all about choices and the poet gets to make lots of them.  In this poem I made the choice not to use punctuation.  It wasn't laziness, but the poet's choice to emphasize the meaning of each word I have carefully selected to go with this subject matter.  But, even as I have gotten this far with the poem, I'm wondering if I could convey even more meaning with the metaphor, if I tried to make this into a concrete poem.

the gritty sand

drops slowly

grain by

grain

never

to drop

again

to-

ward

the end

the sand 

begins to spin

racing out the

narrow glass bend

of the hourglass again

    What do you think?  There is more tweaking to do, so I'm having fun.  There is so much work to do.

     I know, your challenge for today is to think of a tool you use and compare it to an animal to make your own metaphor.  Can you write a poem today with a simile or metaphor in it? 

JUMPING ROPE

SKIP-ity,

     SKIP-ity,

JUMP roping

     is fun.

I lift up

     my feet

           while counting

                ONE,

two, three,

     O

      O

       P

        S!

Caught my foot.

    Now my turn

    is

    DONE.

SKIP-ity,

     SKIP-ity,

        Now it's

             Your turn

                  To be

                       the one

     J-U-M-P-I-N-G,

and I'll

     turn the rope

          for your

                 J-U-M-P-I-N-G

   rope FUN.




      Happy Saturday.  It is time for a break and I'm thinking about the fun things to during recess.  What do you like to do?  Play jump rope, marbles, jacks?  Dodge ball?  Soccer? Throw bean bags?  Today's challenge is to write a poem about anything you would like to do during recess.

Licorice Stick

She shapes the reed

keeps it slick

slips the mouth piece

between her sweet lips.

Each trilled note

splits the air.

Can you hear it

lingering there?

Her music makes

her feel alive

as she plays jazz

bebop and jive.

       I'm back to music again today.  I've had some fun researching the clarinet even though none of the information has ended up in this poem.  Go figure.  Sometimes you just don't need to dump everything into a poem.  To enjoy the music you don't need to know how the instrument is constructed, or famous clarinet players.  I did find out that there are lots of clarinet jokes posted on the web.  The clarinet is the band instrument that most often gets joked about.
      What is your favorite kind of music or song?  Can you write a poem about music today? Have fun.  May you have lots of music in your weekend.

Laura Salas is hosting Poetry Friday today.

GREEN FROG SHOES

I met a very clever, verbal two year old yesterday named Wyatt.  He was wearing green rubber clogs.  This poem is for him.

In my green froggy clogs

I can jump, jump, jump.

Over old, dead tree logs

and traffic safety bumps.

    OK now it is your turn.  Today is Thursday, and I'm thirsty.  Can you write a poem about things you like to drink?  Have fun.  (Perhaps a simple couplet.)  You are welcome to leave your poem in the comments below.  Thank you. 
  Thanks for coming by for a visit.

DOUBLE BASS

I told my parents

I wanted to learn

to play the double bass.

That big sexy instrument

with thumpy strings,

almost six feet tall

from scroll to end pin.

I love watching

bassists play jazz

plucking strings

and slapping their baby.

I found out the bassist

calls his string bass

a doghouse bass or

bull fiddle.

I figured if I played

such a big instrument

when I was 16

I'd need a car

to carry my bass.

I love the low tones

the loud rumble

the deep throaty voice

of the double bass.

My parents said

I'd have to wait

at three feet even

I'm too small

I can't reach the tuning pegs.

      Today I had fun reading SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST ALL-GIRL SWING BAND IN THE WORLD, which is a picturebook collection of poems by Marilyn Nelson, illustrations by Jerry Pinkney.  The poems are from the voice of each instrument in the swing band.  The book is beautifully illustrated with water color collages.  If you're not familiar with the book published by DIAL in 2009 you will enjoy looking at the formatting of this poetry collection.

   

PIANO

           keyboard

88 keys            52 white          36 black

ivory white      ebony black

felted hammer         strikes      steel strings

piano wire       vibrations        resonate frequency

bridge              sounding board

acoustic energy           middle C

pedals               soft, sostenuto, sustain

quite piano        loud forte

J. S. Bach        Haydn              Beethoven

Jerry Lee Lewis           Little Richard

Elton John                   Billie Joel

tickle ivories               piano


      I'm still playing with musical instruments.  I'm wondering if I've gotten too technical this time and think perhaps this one would be more interesting with a metaphor or some onomatopoeia.   What do you think?  Do you take music lessons?  What is your favorite kind of music?  Do you like to sing?  for today's challenge try writing a music poem.  Do have fun.

TUBA

brass

bell

horn

press

valves

mouth piece

big

puff

cheeks

blow

um-pah

um-pah

march

band

     I'm still playing with band instruments.  How about you?  Do you have a poem you'd like to write about music?  Have fun.  Happy Monday.  Happy first day of October.